.440 Cor-bon

.440 Cor-bon
.50 AE, .440 Cor-bon and .44 Magnum
Type	hunting, Rifle, Pistol
Place of origin	United States
Production history
Designed	1997
Manufacturer	Cor-Bon
Produced	1998 to the present
Specifications
Parent cartridge	.50 AE
Case type	Rebated Rim, bottlenecked
Bullet diameter	.429 in (10.9 mm)
Neck diameter	.461 in (11.7 mm)
Shoulder diameter	.529 in (13.4 mm)
Base diameter	.538 in (13.7 mm)
Rim diameter	.510 in (13.0 mm)
Rim thickness	0.055 in (1.4 mm)
Case length	1.280 in (32.5 mm)
Case capacity	50.5 gr H2O (3.27 cm3)
Rifling twist	1 in 18
Primer type	0.210
Maximum pressure	36,000 (250 MPa)
Ballistic performance Bullet weight/type Velocity Energy 240 gr (15.55 g) 1,900 ft/s (580 m/s) 1,920 ft·lbf (2,600 J) 260 gr (17 g) 1,420 ft/s (430 m/s) 1,665 ft·lbf (2,257 J) 305 gr (20 g) 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) 1,730 ft·lbf (2,350 J)

The .440 Cor-bon is a large-caliber handgun cartridge. The Cor-Bon company produced the caliber bullet in 1998. Although it looks more similar to a .357 SIG, this cartridge was designed after being necked down from an existing cartridge, the .50 AE to accept a .44-caliber (.429 in) (10.89 mm) bullet. This is fairly typical in the wildcat cartridge industry.

History

The .50 AE was introduced in the Desert Eagle from Magnum Research 1991, and shortly thereafter shooters began wondering whether there was an alternative to the relatively small selection of factory ammunition, and, for sensitive shooters, the recoil of the .50 round, but still with more substantial stopping power than the .44 Magnum.

In designing the .440, Cor-bon created a lighter recoiling round than the .50 AE with greater penetrating power than the .50 AE and 44 Magnum. The round has a flatter trajectory, and leaves the barrel considerably faster than either the .50 AE or the .44 Mag. However, the cartridge has never taken off, and has remained fairly expensive. Consequentially, Magnum Research no longer produces a Desert Eagle in .440 Cor-bon.

Uses

The round is generally considered to be a hunting round rather than a defense round for a number of reasons. Its excessive penetration and recoil make it unsuitable for self-defense. Also, as it is physically a very large cartridge, commonly chambered in a very large pistol such as the Desert Eagle, it is not particularly feasible to carry it concealed.

It is effective at disabling and killing large animals, able to penetrate large bones such as the shoulder in deer. Some gunsmiths are chambering lever-action rifles to take full advantage of this cartridge on large game.

See also

• List of handgun cartridges
• 10 mm caliber Other similar size cartridges